


truth we both know

by seungri42



Category: NCIS
Genre: AU, F/M, I haven't written in years and I felt like revisiting these two munchkins, It's Berlin so it's a lil angsty, TIVA - Freeform, a rework of a Berlin scene, but it's mostly sweetness, my shipper heart will not die, with orli and whatnot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-09 03:11:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20987867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seungri42/pseuds/seungri42
Summary: “Looks good on you,” Tony says softly, glancing at the uncut diamond propped against Ziva’s ring finger.A reworking of a scene from Berlin.





	truth we both know

**Author's Note:**

> Any recognizable dialogue comes from 10x21, Berlin. I just reworked the scene a little. Originally intended as the start of a much larger fic that I, regretfully, will likely never get around to. 
> 
> Title comes from an X-Files episode, 8x21, Existence.

“Looks good on you,” Tony says softly, glancing at the uncut diamond propped against Ziva’s ring finger. Maybe two years ago, this would have frightened him. Today, however, in the dim light of hope and streetlights, it just makes him feel… right.

  
“Funny, the things we decide are worth something,” she replies, tucking the diamond back into the bag. She’s spent much of her life on her own back burner, never thinking of these creature comforts, at least not honestly. It feels freeing, refreshing.

  
“It’s not so surprising,” he says, knowing her incredulity. “You’ve paid your dues, Ziva. It’s okay to change your focus.” He’s never thought he’d be the one encouraging her to think of settling down, disregarding past discretions for a more…wholesome ending, but here he is. And it doesn’t feel all that strange. At least, while they’re still talking between lines and relying on implications.

  
“I shouldn’t have been surprised that Orli was here for Bodnar,” Ziva says, depositing the bag of diamonds into the glove box. “I think she wants him as badly as I do.”

  
“He wasn’t her father,” Tony replies, loosening his grip on the wheel.

  
“No, but she was the reason for my parents’ divorce,” she says cautiously, a lump in her throat. “She was a young officer and my father was…weak.” She blinks back tears, continuing for the sake of honesty. “I thought she was just an opportunist, using my father to get ahead in Mossad.”

  
Tony finds himself wishing they weren’t the type to have meaningful, transformative conversations in moving cars and dangerous situations. There’s so much he wants to say, so many words that could mean much more without the weight of danger upon them. He wants to tell her something, anything, that will allay the sadness in her voice, but he comes up empty.

  
“But I think she really loved him,” Ziva says, and his heart breaks. He can see the little girl in her features, the one in her memory that looked up to her father, no matter his indiscretions. They way her face crumples at the memory makes his heart ache for her. He wishes he could wrap his arms around a younger Ziva and tell her it will all be okay. “I don’t think my father quite felt the same, but Orli…Orli…”

  
“Orli broke the rules to get ahead and now you think she’s suffering, too.”

  
“I keep thinking that if it was not for Orli, things would have been different.” Ziva wipes another tear, her voice wistful, “I would be a different person.” If she weren’t so sad, she would be tempted to laugh. She’s killed men with things she’s found in the bottom of her pockets, been held captive, and nearly died too many times to count. At one point, she couldn’t even imagine a long-term future for herself. But here she is, crying over her parents’ divorce and her father’s other woman.

  
Tony slows the car to a stop, focusing his attention on Ziva’s face, breaking free of the shroud of darkness behind her. “Then I should catch her before he leaves.” The words are light, but nothing about his delivery reflects his typical humor. Ziva doubts she’s ever been on the receiving end of a look so openly loving before and she finds herself feeling warm, grounded. Tony reaches his hand over to clasp her knee, where her hand rests, before turning her palm up in his, lacing their fingers together. He gives her hand a soft squeeze, “You know, thank her.”

  
She gives him a small smile that grows as she settles into his words. “Tony,” she says, seeking his eyes momentarily as he continues driving. His eyes are warm and bright, brighter than any uncut diamond she could slide against her finger, and she suddenly wishes she could frame this look in gold and wear it like a badge of honor for the rest of her days.

  
“Yeah?”

  
“Have you always been this easy to love?”

  
A car whizzes by in front of them and Tony slams on the brakes a little harder than necessary. It feels like the earth has moved, shifted under his feet. The tingle of adrenaline seeps through to his toes, as if he’d just escaped certain death.

  
It’s taken so much of him to avoid any and all l-words in their relationship (and that word, too), and here she is, diving headfirst.

  
Tony finds himself overwhelmingly proud of his partner, speechless. His mind drifts back to Berlin, a single bed that turned out much better than he dared to hope, and then forward, to the future that seems just a little bit more full of promise than it did two time zones ago.


End file.
